


underneath the mistletoe (make my wish come true)

by aceofdiamonds



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Mistletoe!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 11:23:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2771210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofdiamonds/pseuds/aceofdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy fumbles in his pockets, dragging out a couple of notes and a handful of loose change. “I have twelve bucks and three cents.”</p><p>“Twelve bucks three cents it is,” Piper says, holding out a hand to shake. “If you get Nico to kiss you under that plant, my money’s yours, Jackson -- and <i>no</i> tricks.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	underneath the mistletoe (make my wish come true)

**Author's Note:**

> set a few years after blood of olympus -- four? four years after. also nico didn’t tell percy about liking him and will isn’t really here because i’m sorry but that helps it work out in this. title comes from all i want for christmas is you because honestly, what else.

 

“Mistletoe?” Piper scrunches up her nose. “Gods, Percy, that is so predictable.”

“So predictable no one’s done it before?” Percy laughs, waving the sprig of mistletoe above their heads. “Come on, this is foolproof.”

“Coercing Nico into kissing you by brandishing traditions in his face is _guaranteed_ to fail.”

“Don’t make it sound seedy, Piper, this is a wholesome holiday tradition and if it happens to let me kiss Nico then so be it.”

“You know, this whole pining thing has gone on for so long I’m just glad you’re actually doing something about it.”

“There’s been no _pining_ ,” Percy insists.

Annabeth walks past at that point, a large cake balanced in her hands and two kids from her cabin following her with trays of cupcakes. “Percy, the whole camp has known you’ve liked him for months. Right?” she directs over her shoulder to her followers who nod, ducking their heads when Percy narrows his eyes at them. “Piper’s right, the mistletoe sucks, but if that’s your best plan, go for it.”

“I kissed you under the mistletoe once,” Percy argues his case. It had been very romantic. They had split up three months after that, though, so maybe he should have made it more romantic, but really, what’s more romantic than ice skating and cute traditions. (Anyway, it had been less about lack of romance and more about them growing apart when it came down to it.) “Are you saying it sucked then?”

“I’m saying me and Nico are different people,” which, yeah, Percy is all too aware of that fact, given the small freak-out he had about it a few months ago. “But you know him better than I do, Percy.”

“You’re really dragging down my confidence,” he whines, leaning in to swipe a cupcake and groaning when Annabeth nudges the boy out of his reach. “What are the cakes even for? Chiron doesn’t have a birthday.”

“We’re decorating them over at the campfire,” Piper says. “Another one of your beloved holiday traditions.”

“Christmas at Camp Half-Blood is really kicking it into gear this year,” Percy whistles. “Save me one?”

“Where are you going just now?”

“To place this over Nico’s door,” he says, waving it again. “ _Foolproof_.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Yes, McLean, I do.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes. “See you in a few, Piper,” and then heads over to the campfire. The girl with Annabeth sticks her tongue out at Percy on her way past and it takes so much of his self-control and reminders that he is a role model to not do it back.

“How much?”

Percy fumbles in his pockets, dragging out a couple of notes and a handful of loose change. “I have twelve bucks and three cents.”

“Twelve bucks three cents it is,” Piper says, holding out a hand to shake. “If you get Nico to kiss you under that plant, my money’s yours, Jackson -- and _no_ tricks.”

“What do you take me for, McLean?” Percy wails, clutching his chest. His fist clenches around the mistletoe making him hiss with pain when the thorns dig into his palm. “Ow. Shit.”

The look Piper is giving him is mostly fond but there's a glint in her eye that Percy has seen too many times not to be wary. “Here, to get you started,” and then she darts in and kisses him quickly.

“It’s only when it’s above our heads, Piper, you don’t have to kiss me _all the time_ ,” Percy grins.

Piper winks, pushing him towards the Hades cabin. “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

  
  


.

  
  


This all started completely by accident. It wasn't like Percy had planned to have a -- a _thing_ for Nico. It wasn’t something that had ever crossed his mind, honestly, but then he and Annabeth had gone their separate ways and Nico had disappeared for months and when he came back he was three years older and so tall and he had muscles and smiled more. To deal with this Percy acted completely normal; he didn’t laugh too much at Nico’s jokes or offer to teach him to swim multiple times or sit beside him at the campfire every night or try to find out if Nico had a significant other or anything.

Yeah, he had done all those things.

And then he had turned twenty one and that meant drinking legally and alcohol didn’t even do much for demigods but he blamed it when he kissed a boy with black hair and spiky tattoos all up his arms in a club that Jason had looked positively shocked to be in the whole time they were there. The kissing hadn’t helped much but it had been fun and had helped to confirm that bisexual was something Percy could attach to himself.

It was a confusing time in Percy’s life.

And _now_ , now Nico is tall and hot and happy and if Percy doesn’t do something really soon someone else is going to kiss him under the mistletoe and if Piper and Annabeth think he has been pining _now_ wait till they see what might happen then.

Mistletoe is the only chance Percy has at happiness.

Plus, he now has twelve dollars and three cents hanging in the balance which is all he needs.

  
  


.

  
  


“Hey, Percy.”

Percy looks up from where the snowflake he is supposed to be making out of paper. “Hey, Nico, what’s up?”

“A few of us were going to go to the cinema if you wanted to come?”

“Sure, want a snowflake to take with you? Handmade by the best.”

“You’ve cut the wrong end,” Nico points out when he opens it up. “There’s a huge hole in the middle.” He’s right. It’s a mess. Nico slips it into his pocket, offering a hand to pull Percy to his feet. “Why is Chiron doing so much for the holidays this year?”

Percy shrugs. “Maybe Mr D thinks if he makes the kids happy enough Zeus will let him have a drink.”

“I feel sorry for him sometimes,” Nico says. “Imagine never being able to have your favourite thing.”

Percy eyes Nico, tries not to give anything and feels like he’s failing miserably. “Yeah. That would suck.”

  
  


.

  
  


The subway is packed with harrassed late-night shoppers and bored business workers who just want to get home. Percy and Nico end up slotted between someone who looks vaguely famous and a trio of seventh graders. The school kids alternate between staring at Nico and Percy with mixed looks of appreciation and whispering about who the mildly famous person might be.

Nico falls into Percy’s side after a bumpy turn and Percy’s arm slides around his shoulders to keep him steady, their bodies pressed together more than the tight carriage is really requiring. Percy bites his lip to keep from breaking into a smile and when he looks up again he catches the eye of the quietest girl beside him who looks at him too knowingly for his liking. They all swarm off at the next stop, going their separate ways, apart from Nico who snags Percy’s arm and leads him up the steps with him.

  
  


.

  
  


“Who else did you say was coming?”

At this something close to a blush makes Nico flush and glance at the ground. “Oh, turns out they were busy, so, it’s just us.”

Percy’s been at Camp for almost ten years now, he knows those kids, and he knows that none of them would turn down a trip to the cinema to see a film about talking penguins, and all of this means that Nico planned this to be just the two of them. See, sometimes Percy’s accused of being oblivious but he’s paying attention here, this means something for him, and nothing’s getting past him.

“Sounds like a date, then, Nico,” and he grins, tugging at Nico’s jacket and leading him over to the ticket queue.

“If that’s what you want it to be,” Nico shrugs and then he _smirks_ , like this is hilarious to him and as though that might hide the fact that the tips of his ears are bright red.

Percy allows Nico to pay for the tickets because all he has is twelve dollars and the cinema is really fucking expensive. Anyway, Hades is the god of wealth so it’s not like Nico will miss a few bucks.

They slip into the room just as the lights are going down and Percy leads Nico up to the back because that’s where all the best views are, everyone knows that, it has nothing to do with little dark corners and chairs with not enough space. They settle into the tiny chairs, elbows knocking, and knees bumping, and when the movie ends their bodies are still lined up, touching all the way down, comfortable, easy.

It’s freezing outside but they walk so close together Percy can feel the heat of Nico pressed against his shoulder.

  
  
  


.

  
  
  


(When Nico disappeared back into the Underworld not long after the battle with Gaea Percy didn’t notice for a few weeks. For one he just assumed Nico was at Camp Jupiter for a while with Hazel and for another he was too busy helping clear up the Camp and help Jason sort out the gods to notice who was where and who wasn’t. Also, he and Annabeth had a lot of catching up to do after fighting for their lives and being separated for the last seven months. It was understandable why Nico was the last thing on his mind.

And then Nico had come back and Percy had become more aware of just how much he had done to help them and how important he was to the Seven and really, they’d been through a lot together even if it a lot of it wasn’t so good for them and so he decides now that he’s going to talk to him, try and make amends for how shitty he's been.

He starts by apologizing for not trusting him for all those years. Nico nods at that and says he understands why did it, it’s not as if Hades is the most liked of the gods, and Percy feels worse because gods, he thought he had it bad with Poseidon but he’s a walk in the park when it comes to Hades.

Nico corrects him then. “Hades isn’t as bad as everyone thinks, you know. He’s been trying -- I think Persephone put him up to it to be honest -- but this time while I was down there he taught me a bit about the underworld and why everything is the way it is. He’s good at his job, he just has a bad rep.”

“It’s a good organisation system, I guess,” Percy agrees. “Did you get to hang out with Cerberus?”

“Yeah I played with a giant dog the whole time I was there,” Nico says dryly but there’s something like a smile on his lips and this is a joke, Percy sees, and he laughs. “Mrs O’Leary still around?”

“Of course, she’s immortal, right? Why, you thinking of a replacement for ole’ three heads down there?”

“Nah, she’s too soft, she would just lick the newcomers -- not frightening at all.”

Percy laughs again. “Have you seen her much since you’ve been back?”

Nico ducks his head, scuffing his shoe along the sand. “She’s not exactly my main priority.”

“Oh, yeah, Hazel! I haven’t seen her in a couple of months, how’s she doing?”

Nico is looking at him funny which doesn’t make sense because Percy loves Hazel, why shouldn't he ask after her, but before he can say anything Nico says, “Yeah, she’s been helping Reyna a lot recently. She’s happy.”

“Are you happy?” Percy asks.

A wave crashes onto the beach, almost reaching their feet. Nico draws his legs up a bit, folds his arms around his shins. He looks younger here, more like Percy remembers. He wants to know this Nico in all the ways he never got to know the other one.

“I’m getting there,” he says quietly. “It’s taken me a while and maybe an unhealthy amount of time spent in the land of the dead but I’m realising that there are things up here that are worth living for.” A sharp laugh follows this, the sound coming deep from his chest. Percy shifts closer without thinking about this, wonders what he can say. “We never asked for this, Percy.”

“For what?” but he thinks he knows, it’s something he’s thought about too, less so over the years but enough to recognise the pleading in Nico’s voice.

“I didn’t ask for my mother to die, to spend decades in a casino missing out on so much, to be this hybrid of god and human. Why would I? What good has come from it?”

Percy hasn’t lost his mom and his powers with water are actually pretty cool but he’s been through enough, they’ve both suffered so so much, he can see why Nico feels this way. “This is the way it is, Nico, and it sucks, I know that, but you have us and you have your life and at this stage I think that’s all we can ask for.”

“I think everyone’s amazed you’ve made it to twenty one,” Nico says, sniggering.

“Don’t jinx it,” Percy says and rolls his head back, squinting into the sun. It’s been six months since he and Annabeth broke up, three months since Nico came back, four since Percy became head trainer at camp. Things are going okay.)

 

.

  
  


(What follows is a growing friendship that starts tentatively and becomes something Percy values highly. He discovers that Nico is full of sarcasm, knows a surprising amount about the ocean, and is actually really nice when treated without distaste and distrust and without threats on their lives. They spar for the younger ones and vote on the same movies when movie night comes around and Percy feels a stab of guilt every time he remembers all the times he cast Nico aside but they’re here now, they’re working on it, and it might not be perfect but it’s progress.)

  
  


.

  
  


(Percy realises he wants to kiss Nico right around Halloween. When he tells Jason about this Jason nods knowingly and says he’s known all along, and Percy doesn't’ even justify that with a response just drops his head onto his hands, poking himself in the eyes with his devil horns. Jason pats him on the shoulder, the gloves of his Captain America costume warm through the thin material of Percy’s top, and says it’s not as bad as he thinks it is.

The thing is, the friendship with Nico is going so well, the addition of feelings and kissing is sure to mess it up.

Jason points out that it never ruined anything with Annabeth when they started dating which is, well, it’s a very good point. Jason always was Percy’s favourite.)

  
  


.

  
  


It’s snowing by the time they make it to the camp boundaries. It falls slowly at first, the flakes only every few minutes, but it’s not long before it’s building up on the ground, tickling Percy’s nose and making him wish he had brought gloves. Nico blows on his own hands, stamping on the spot to heat up. There’s a snowflake nestled in his fringe, just where it dips into his eyes, and when he glances up through his eyelashes and smiles a little, soft and secret, it doesn’t look far off a photo for the holiday cards Percy’s mom loves.

“You wanna make a snow angel?”

Nico scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Who do you think I am, Percy.”

“Don’t even pretend you wouldn't, Nico di Angelo, if there wasn't so much mud here.”

“Maybe you could persuade Chiron to let it snow inside camp,” Nico says sweetly. “Show off your water skills with the lake.”

“I don’t _show off,_ ” Percy says defensively, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Who says they need to go into the city to ice-skate if they have a perfectly good lake to freeze right here. “I use my powers for good.”

“Yeah, okay,” and then Nico is making his way back through the trees and Percy has to scramble to keep up. “What about that time you made all the water jugs explode at dinner? What good was that?”

“I was emotionally volatile,” Percy argues, which is completely true given that it was a couple of days after the talk with Annabeth and he was still coming to terms with it all. “Nobody got hurt.”

“Not sure the Aphrodite cabin saw it that way.”

“You weren’t even _there_ ,” Percy says, “Oh, and you’ve never done anything bad with your powers.”

Nico stops, turns to face Percy, and yeah, he’s just heard what he said. Fuck. “No, I didn’t mean it like that --”

“Relax, Percy,” and then he smiles. “It’s fine -- everyone has totally forgotten about the Midas thing, I’m sure.”

“I mean, that wasn’t technically bad, was it? Trying to raise someone from the dead. Sure, it’s a little --” fuck, he’s all over the place and making it a hundred times worse. There’s something in Nico’s eyes that tighten, making Percy wish he could reverse the last three minutes, back to when everything had been going so well. “Nico, I wish --”

“Stop it, Percy. Just -- stop.” He sounds tired, like this is something he’s gone over a hundred times before, the battle not worth it anymore. “I’m okay now, and so are you.”

Percy is okay, he thinks, and he’s sure Nico is too, if he can say that. “Can we go back to snow angels?”

“You mean our date?” Nico says, eyes lighting up, shifting. “Come on, Jackson, we’re gonna miss curfew if we don’t start moving.”

He offers a cold hand to Percy and Percy steps forward and takes it.

  
  


.

  
  


“What’s this?”

“Mistletoe,” and gods, Percy never thought this far ahead because now his heart is beating really fast and his mouth feels dry.

“What’s mistletoe and why is it above my door?”

“Do Christian traditions mean nothing to you, di Angelo?”

Nico leans back against the door of his cabin and folds his arms. Percy takes a step closer. They’re the same height, he sees. “My father is the lord of the underworld,” Nico says in that tone that means nothing about our upbringings was normal, you know that.

“It means I have to kiss you.”

“Yeah?” Nico raises an eyebrow and doesn’t look put out by the thought, which, given the way the day has turned out isn’t really that much of a surprise but still, Percy’s stomach swoops in a mostly pleasant way at the realisation. “What a fun tradition.”

“ _I_ think so,” Percy agrees, swaying a little closer. “So --”

Nico kisses him. For all his planning this isn’t what Percy expected. He was supposed to do the leaning in and the charming and now Nico is kissing him and fuck who really cares about plans when this is going great. His hand comes up to cup Nico’s chin, the skin cold but his mouth warm, gods so warm and soft and when he opens his mouth a little he brushes Nico’s bottom lip with his tongue and it tastes a little like snow.

It’s eager and quick and Nico leans further back against the door, his legs bracketing Percy’s, relaxing into the touch of Percy’s hand on his waist. This is the result of pining and wishing and kissing lookalikes in dark corners of clubs and when Percy grins against Nico’s mouth Nico nips at his lip then breaks away, a smile curving his own.

“Get a room, you two,” Piper calls over from somewhere to their left. Percy ignores her and leans back in, flipping her off when she shouts something about bets and cheats.

“What does she mean about a bet?” Nico murmurs when they pull away a few minutes later. Percy’s hands are cold; when he slides them under Nico’s coat and along the smooth hot plane of his stomach Nico hisses and jerks, pulling Percy closer against him. “Percy?”

“She didn’t think you would kiss me,” he says, ducking to kiss Nico’s neck, licking over a stray freckle. “And now she’s being a sore loser.”

“You planned all this,” Nico says, voice full of something a little like awe, pulling Percy back to the first time they met all those years ago and Nico had looked at him like he was the best thing he’d ever seen. They’re equals now. “You’ve been wanting to kiss me for so long.”

“Don’t be mean,” Percy groans, fumbling at the waistband of Nico’s jeans and laughing into Nico’s mouth when he squawks in surprise. “I like you a lot.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” and then they’re kissing again, fast and dizzying. “But you’ve known that for a while.”

“You were never a sure thing.”

“Oh, I definitely was. You were, like, the star of all my fantasies during puberty. I feel it’s best I tell you that now.”

“You were the catalyst for my sexuality crisis,” Percy offers.

“Seems like we’re equal,” which is what Percy has been saying all along.

“Hey, Nico.”

“Yeah?”

“Merry Christmas.”

“I think I love Christmas.” Percy fumbles behind Nico’s back for the door handle, both of them stumbling inside. The heat hits them at once making them sigh into the kiss and laugh, walking towards the bed. “Yeah,” Nico mumbles as he tugs at Percy’s jacket. “Yeah. I definitely love Christmas.”

 

 


End file.
